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After installing the Mac OS X 10.4.8 update, Intel-based Macintosh computers may not be able to obtain IP addresses from some third party wireless routers.
In this event, the Mac is generally able to associate with the wireless network, but it will obtain a self-assigned IP address (169.254.x.x) and will not be able to connect to the Internet. More …
Wired rounds up a sampling of “Get a Mac” parodies, concluding “It’s really sort of a hit parade of bad ideas, sloppy execution and the occasional clever line. But mostly not. I’m just going to post them as I found them, along with my commentary. Up first: “Bored teen makes for a boring Mac and a boring PC.” More …
To put yesterday’s Zune news into perspective, Coolest Gadgets reports that the demand for everything iPod is so high that even an iPod accessory was outselling Microsoft’s new MP3 media player on Amazon.com. “Microsoft’s new Zune media player, despite heavy marketing, came in only at No. 75 on Amazon’s list of 100 best-selling electronics this week. The Zune was trailing many iPod accessories such as Apple’s $29.99 iPod USB power adapter, at No. 65.” More …
Despite recent negative press about Microsoft’s new media player, it is now ranked No. 2 behind rival Apple’s iPod, according to statistics released by the NPD Group today, reported by both MacNN and AppleInsider.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports that the Zune has “supplanted SanDisk’s Sansa for the distant No. 2 spot, claiming nine percent of unit sales and 13 percent of the total dollar share during its first week on store shelves.
A MacInTouch reader has a solution.
Don’t know about Airport in relation to 10.4.8 but there is a problem with the 5.7 firmware update. We’ve had numerous basestations fail to hold a WAN connection and drop off the network for no apparent reason. Re-booting gets them back online but they will fail again, some sooner and others later with no apparent correlation. Apple phone support was of little assistance. Thought about detuning from v5.7 and found a thread in Apple Discussions with a link to v5.5.1. Installed the 5.5.1 updater in all problem units and have had no issues since.”
ZDNet is covering the emergence of iAdware, a “proof of concept” malware that was sent to Finnish security company F-Secure. Moral implications aside, one of the more-interesting issues presented by this “application” is that it doesn’t require the user to provide a password or otherwise give it permission to install itself.
“We won’t disclose the exact technique used here, it’s a feature not a bug, but let’s just say that installing a System Library shouldn’t be allowed without prompting the user,” according to the F-Secure blog on Thursday. “In theory, this program could be silently installed to your user account and hooked to each application you use. This particular sample successfully launched the Mac’s web browser when we used any of a number of applications.” More …
Apple has released Security Update 2006-007, which is recommended for all users and improves the security of the following components:
—AirPort
—ATS
—CFNetwork
—Finder
—Font Book
—Font Importer
—Installer
—OpenSSL
—PHP
—PPP
—Samba
—Security Framework
—VPN
—WebKit
—gnuzip
—perl
More …
This KB article tells you what to do when you see this alert message:
Mail cannot update your mailboxes because your home directory is full. You must free up space in your home folder before using Mail. Delete unneeded documents or move documents to another volume.
This may affect Mail when using Mac OS X 10.4 through 10.4.8. More …
The Penn State Digital Collegian reports on an increase in Mac sales on campus.
The Penn State Computer Store saw a large jump in its sales of Macintosh computers this past summer compared to the 2005 summer, said Robin Anderson, communications director of information and technology services. This parallels a recent study done by the Student Monitor, a research organization that studies college students’ consumer trends. According to the study, 13 percent of college students planning to buy notebook computers have decided to buy a Macintosh, putting it in second place among preferred brands, behind Dell. Eric Weil, managing partner of Student Monitor, said he thought the numbers showed a noteworthy change. More …
The San Francisco Chronicle opines that the Zune is reinforcing Microsoft’s biggest image problems.
Either the Micro-guys are clueless dorks — Zune is as expensive as iPod, bulkier, and is neither as easy to work as iPod nor as cool. Or, worse yet, the boys up north are malicious bullies. According to at least one review, the music system only works with the Microsoft Explorer browser, not Firefox, which many others and I prefer. More …
PVRWire has instructions for viewing Zune content on a Mac
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